The Tuesday before Thanksgiving is one of the most dangerous days to be on the road

On November 27, 2024By Pranco

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) statistics show that the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, along with the Monday, has the most accidents during the holiday travel period.

“We are seeing an increase in crashes and fatalities, with some of those rising to the top on the Fourth of July, this Thanksgiving week, New Year’s Eve and the week after Christmas,” said Natalie Dale, a spokesperson for GDOT.

In 2023, GDOT documented 1,558 crashes on Georgia roadways on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, compared to 320 crashes the following day. In 2022, there were 1,082 crashes on Tuesday and 372 wrecks on Wednesday.

“If we look at the Monday and Tuesday leading up to Thanksgiving, we see more accidents on the road. And that’s because we see more people on the road. You’re rushing to the grocery store, you’re picking up your kids from school or you’re going from event to event,” Dale said.

In terms of fatalities, GDOT has statistically seen more on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and on the holiday itself.

“When you look at that, you wonder if there are fewer accidents, why are there more fatalities? Well, there are families in the car,” Dale said.

Over the years, reporters from Atlanta News First have spoken with family members who lost loved ones the week of Thanksgiving. In 2018, 12-year-old Braden Stevenson was killed when a car left the road and ran him over while he was in his locked garage.

“I hit the ground and all I could do was scream. All I could do was let go of the pain,” Braden’s father Cory Stevenson said at the time.

And in 2021, a woman who lost her father just before the holidays spoke with Atlanta News First.

“It hasn’t even occurred to me that he won’t be part of Thanksgiving at all,” Traci Thomason said at the time.

GDOT said many fatalities result from distracted driving and not wearing a seat belt.

“We still see many fatalities due to lack of seat belt use. Which, in my personal opinion, is one of the easiest things you can do, aside from not driving drunk and not driving distracted. Fasten your seat belt. It takes two seconds,” Dale said.